Livestock

This technology describes the introduction of silvopastoral systems in the dry flats of the Chaco eco-region of Bolivia as a good practice to increase the resilience of cattle raisers to recurrent drought.
Silvopastoral systems are a combination of trees, pastures, and livestock. Trees contribute to increased pasture productivity, at the same time they provide a natural shelter to animals. Livestock also benefits from this good practice, especially during the prolonged drought periods when pasture is otherwise generally scarce and mortality rates increase significantly.
This technology briefly introduces the concept of silvopartoral systems and presents a cost-benefit analysis of the practice compared to normal practices for raising cattle.

This technology describes the introduction of livestock refuge mounds in the sub-Amazonian eco-region of Bolivia (Department of Beni) as a good practice to increase the resilience of cattle raisers to recurrent floods.
Livestock refuge mounds are small mounds covering an area of about 0.5-1 ha, and they provide shelter for people, livestock and agricultural products during floods.
In addition, animal treatments such as deworming and preventive vitaminization and mineralization were introduced or improved in the targeted communities in order to further reduce animal mortality in both normal and hazard conditions.
This technology briefly introduces the concepts of livestock refuge mounds, deworming and preventive vitaminization and mineralization and presents a cost-benefit analysis of the combination of the 3 good practices compared to normal practices.

In the highlands of Bolivia, recurrent cold waves and related extreme events severely increase the mortality rate of camelids, which represent a main source of livelihood for the local population.
This technology describes the introduction “Corralones” or semi-roofed shelters aimed at protecting livestock from extreme weather and climate events, in the Bolivian eco-region of the Altiplano (High Andean Plateau) as a means to enhance the resilience of livestock (Llama camelids) in the face of snow, frost and hailstorms, in addition to the introduction of veterinary pharmacies, in order to provide livestock with the necessary treatments to cope with prolonged frost and snow periods.
In farms affected by frost and snow, this good practice contributed to reduce livestock mortality, bringing 18% higher net benefits compared to the local practice, as well as increasing livestock production in the face of extreme events.

Livestock refuge mounds (Spanish: Lomas de resguardo ganadero) are small mounds of 1.80 – 2.20 m height covering an area of about 0.5-1 ha. In 11 communities of Beni (Bolivia), a region highly vulnerable to natural disasters, these traditional hills do not only provide shelter for livestock but are also used to safeguard agricultural products in periods of flooding. The mounds are surrounded by water channels with a capacity of 13,000 m3 providing water for livestock during the dry season. In addition, the water channels can also be used for irrigation of horticulture and for fish farming which allow for complementary nutrition.

This practice is describing the preparation and use of a clay incubator, that helps hatching Guinea fowl eggs.
The incubator is simple and doesn’t require sophisticated or expensive materials to build.. The materials used are clay bricks, sand, a thermometer, a kerosene lamp, black plastic, iron roof, and a grid rack with wooden edges.
The description gives detailed information and images that show how to build the Clay incubators.

As improved breeds of livestock become more available, provision of better nutritive management will be more important. Pasture and fodder remain the cheapest form of animal feed available. Good animal production requires pasture and fodder species which give a high yield of palatable and digestive herbage and which contain adequate nutrients. Fodder crops are planted specifically to provide feed for cutting. The following technology explains how to grow and manage calliandra trees and elephant grass and provides information regarding their application as livestock fodder.

Since tsetse flies feed mostly on the legs and mostly on the largest animals in the herd, an application of pour-on insecticides or sprays restricted to the legs of cows, bulls and draught animals has been shown to be effective in controlling tsetse. This also results in a significant cost saving to the farmer, of up to 80 to 90%.

In Bangladesh, major constraints to improving the productivity of livestock include a shortage of fodder. At the same time, intensive cropping has reduced the fertility of the soil. This situation can be improved by on-farm cultivation of green fodder for livestock as an integral component of the cropping system. Cultivation of fodder crops has traditionally not been practiced as farmers can not normally spare the land for fodder production at the cost of reduced rice production. A system to improve fodder production was developed and integrated into the existing crop production pattern, allowing for the supplementation of rice-straw based diets of dairy cattle. Integration of fodder legumes with rice-based cropping systems is an appropriate technology for this situation.